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Southport is an interesting seaside town with many Victorian terraced properties so it came as no surprise when I was asked to maintain a Victorian Tiled hallway in the town.

Cleaning a Victorian Floor Tiles

The floor was in good condition for its age and just in need of a clean and re-seal to keep it looking good, hallway area’s as you can imagine get more footfall than other parts of the house so are more likely to need a regular deep clean.

To get the floor clean and remove any remaining sealer the floor was sprayed with Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was left to soak into the tile for five minutes before being scrubbed in using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The next step was to wash off the residue with water which was then removed using a wet vacuum. Following this the tiles were given a rinse in Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is an acid based product that can remove grout smears and mineral deposits, it also improves the ability of the sealer to bond with the tile. Last step before sealing was to give the floor a thorough wash down with clean water, which is designed to remove any trace of cleaning products before sealing; the water was removed with the wet vacuum and then left to dry overnight.

Sealing the Victorian Tiled Floor

The next day I returned and checked the floor for dampness using a Damp Meter which indicated the floor was dry and ready for sealing. For Victorian Floor tiles I recommend several coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which provides a low sheen finish whilst offering great stain protection.

Last week we were asked to carry out a demonstration of our AntiSlip Treatment for a lady in Ashtead Surrey. She has white shiny Porcelain tiles laid on a patio area and when they get wet they are really slippery and dangerous and she was especially concerned about young children hurting themselves. We carried out a test patch for her and asked her to see if she could slip, not only did she try, but her gran and mother-in-law also tried and were extremely impressed. I left her with our quotation so she could discuss it with her husband. The next day I received a call asking me to go ahead and carry out the works.

Applying the Anti-Slip Solution

When applying this treatment it is vital that you follow all the guidelines and times for the different types of stone. It is a 3 stage application, the first is the primer which is mixed 4 : 1 which we scrubbed into small areas of about 6m2 at a time, when scrubbing we used a brush head on our rotary scrubbing machine which has the added advantage of cleaning the tiles.

After about 5 minutes of scrubbing using a scrubbing pad we then vacuumed it all and left the tiles to dry and because we were outside in the sun it didn’t take long to dry. The next stage is to apply the Antislip treatment and for this we used a flat mop and for these type of tiles we needed to leave it to dwell for between 3 and 5 minutes, but we had to make sure that it did not dry in.

After the dwell time the 3rd stage is to scrub in another solution of the primer, but this time it locks in the Antislip. When you are scrubbing this stage you can feel the treatment working. Once we have completed this stage we vacuum it all up then rinse the area with fresh water to remove any residues.

The complete area was around 50m2 and luckily the treatment package covered this area. In all the application took two of us around five hours to complete and after clearing our equipment away we then put all the garden furniture back in place.

We returned the next day because the customer also asked us to clean their driveway and the patio area was wet because of rain, but it was great to walk on and I did not slip at all.

The customer was really happy, because if the treatment hadn’t worked her only other option would have been to rip up the tiles and replace them at a cost of thousands and to make things even better for her, this treatment will last around 4 years before she needs to have it re-applied.

On a visit to a customer to a customer in Beckenham, Kent who had a pair of rugs that needed cleaning I was asked to take a look at her Encaustic kitchen floor tiles which had become dull and she couldn’t keep them clean. I carried out a demonstration on how I would clean them and also explained the different sealer options available and how each sealer can have a different effect. She was pleased with the demonstration and engaged me to clean the tiles as well as the rugs specifying a sealer that would leave a sheen on the tile.

Cleaning black Porcelain floor tiles

I set about scrubbing the floor using a hot water dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean Tile and Grout cleaner combined 50:50 with NanoTech UltraClean which adds tiny abrasive particles to the solution to make a more effective cleaning product. The solution was worked into the tiles by scrubbing with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad and a stiff hand brush was used along the tight grout lines. The soiled solution was removed using a wet vacuum and floor thoroughly rinsed down with clean water. The tiles were then left to dry with the aid of a Turbo Air blower to help speed up the drying time.

Sealing Encaustic Floor Tiles

Once the tiles were dry I applied five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a water based protective sealer that doesn’t give off any odour and produces a nice low sheen the customer was looking for.

The final result was one happy customer with a clean easy to maintain tiled floor and two clean rugs as well.

This property in London N6 had been rented out previously by the owners and they were now renovating it before moving back in, this work included a wet room which had glass mosaic floor tiles and a dark Basalt tile laid on the wall. The main problem had been a general lack of maintenance over the years which led to a major unsightly build-up of lime scale throughout the wet room. We agreed to do the work but had to explain to the client how difficult the work would be and set their expectation for only an eighty percent improvement. I must apologise in advance for the quality of some of the photographs on this page, the size of the room, low lighting a nature of the stone surfaces didn’t lend themselves well to being photographed.

Day 1 -Cleaning Basalt and Mosaic Tiles

Having protected all the chrome furnishings within the wet room we started to soak the Basalt tiled walls with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up followed by scrubbing and rinsing constantly with clear water. Grout Clean-up is an Acid based product so you do need to take care when doing this however it is particularly effective at shifting mineral deposits like Limescale. When we were satisfied this had removed the majority of soap scum and lime scale we proceeded to clean the Glass Mosaic floor tiles using the same method.

Day 2 -Polishing Basalt wall Tiles

The basalt tiled walls now needed to be restored back to their original factory condition using small diamond encrusted burnishing pads attached to a hand held polishing machine. We started with a coarse pad which removed any remaining Limescale which had impregnated the surface of the stone and moved onto the finer pads which polish the stone. Once this was complete the tiles were given a final clean with Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is an everyday cleaning product designed for regular use on stone or sealed tiled surfaces.

Day 3 -Sealing Basalt wall Tiles

We came back on the third day and after making sure the Basalt tiles had dried we gave it a final buffing to restore the stone to a deep high gloss shine. The last step was to seal the Basalt tile in order to protect it and make it easier to clean in the future and for this we applied three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone.

Finally we used a rotary floor polisher fitted with a white buffing pad to buff the mosaic glass floor to a high shine.

This Pamment tiled hall was in a Grade II listed former Manor House in the village of Creeting St Peter, there were three areas of floor requiring attention two having being recently laid and the other the original floor. Similar to Terracotta, Pamment tiles are made from Clay and have been traditionally used throughout Norfork and Suffollk.

Cleaning Pamment Tiles

I started the job using a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a heavy duty cleaner ideal for stone, tile and grout. The cleaner was diluted with water and left to soak into the Pamment tile and grout for about 10 minutes before being scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. The soiled solution was then removed with a wet vacuum and washed down with clean water to neutralise the floor of any chemical; we repeated this process a couple of times and we also used a stiff hand brushes to clean up the grout lines. Once happy the floor was given a final rinse and left to dry overnight, A dehumidifier was left running to ensure that the floor would be dry enough to seal the next day.

Sealing Pamment Tiles

The next day came back to do the sealing and after checking the floor had dried sufficiently proceeded to seal it . Tile Doctor Seal and Go was used to seal the floor, it’s a water based sealer so it doesn’t give off an odour when it’s drying and also offers durable stain protection together with a low sheen finish which enhances the look of the tile. Like Terracotta Pamment tiles are very porous and took seven coats of sealer r before it was fully sealed.

The work took two days in all and now the floor is much easier to maintain.

This unusual Emery and Cie Cement Encaustic tiled floor in Ealing W5 had been poorly installed by the tiler with grout haze on the tiles and the wrong sealer used. Cement encaustic tiles are quite delicate and difficult to restore.

Cleaning Cement Encaustic Tiles

I used a red burnishing pad fitted to a buffing machine to cut into the tile surface and remove the grout haze and old sealer. The next step was to apply a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean letting it soak into the tile before working it in to the tile with a red buffing pad. The soiled cleaning solution was then removed using a wet and dry Vacuum and the floor washed down with clean water. This cleaned up the floor well but there were some stubborn stains which were removed using a steamer.

Sealing Cement Encaustic Tiles

Once the floor had dried it was sealed using three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour intensifying sealer that provides durable surface protection. Last step was to burnish the tiles again with a green burnishing pad to bring up the shine.

Although the floor had been too damaged to be made perfect, it was very much better when I had finished and the customer was delighted with the result.

These Marble Tiles were laid in an en-suite bathroom at a house in Bridport, the main problems to be addressed WERE that the floor had dulled and lost most of its shine, there was also a coffee stain in the corner which needed to be addressed.

Removing Stains from Marble Tile

To remove the ingrained coffee stain we used Tile Doctor Reduxa, which is a penetrating stain remover used in conjunction with a heat gun, it can take a little time to work but its very easy to apply, I’ve copied the instructional video below so you can see for yourself.

Polishing Marble Floor Tiles

Before polishing the marble tiled floor we set about giving it a quick clean using a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to ensure there was no grit on the floor that could lead to deep scratches when polishing. The floor was then rinsed with clean water to remove and chemical residue and we then began polishing the floor using a set of burnishing pads fitted to a heavy buffing machine. There are four pads in the set each encrusted with very fine diamonds, you start the process with the Red pad which is designed to remove sealers, followed by the White polishing pad for the removal of ingrained dirt then the Yellow smoothing pad and finally the Green polishing pad.

Sealing Marble Tiles

The floor was then washed down to remove any remnants from the polishing process and dried off so it could be sealed. To seal the floor we used a single coat of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is a premium penetrating sealer that gives a natural appearance and will provide long lasting stain protection going forward.

The customer requested the coffee stain removed and a high shine finish and was not disappointed, my photography skills aren’t brilliant but hopefully you can also see the improvement.

Slate Flooring Care in Whepstead

Some details below of a cleaning and sealing job we we did on a 43m2 Slate Floor in a kitchen/utility room in Whepstead, Suffolk.

This beautiful slate floor had been sealed several years ago, the sealer had worn and it was in need of some slate flooring care. The floor was cleaned with Pro-clean, it was a reasonably large and it tool around 2 litres to get it clean. We then left it to dry overnight and came back the next morning to seal it using 6x coats of Seal & Go consuming around 2 litres of the product.

Details below of a terracotta floor cleaning job we did near Boston, that’s Boston in Lincolnshire which is small port on the east coast of the UK as opposed to Boston, Massachusetts which was given its name by emigrants from this area.

The tiles were expensive handmade terracotta tiles, a few of which contained finger prints that had been baked onto the tile during the manufacturing process. The owner had previously tried to seal the floor themselves using other products but was having difficulty and had delayed making use of their new kitchen extension until the floor could be sealed.

Cleaning Terracotta Floor Tiles

To ensure a consistent finish we had to remove the previous sealer and make sure the Terracotta floor was clean it was scrubbed with a buffing machine assisted with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an effective alkaline cleaner and sealer remover depending on the dilution. Cleaning the Terracotta floor tiles took a day to complete before being washed down with clean water to remove any remaining cleaner and neutralise the floor.

Sealing Terracotta Floor Tiles

The floor was left overnight to dry and we came back the next day to apply a sealer to protect the tiles, sealing those pores that collect dirt and make them easier to clean. We used four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go for this; it’s recommend for Terracotta floors bringing out the colour in the tile whilst providing a Matt finish. The customer was over the moon with the results and can now move into their new kitchen and sealed tiles.

Riven Slate Floor Cleaning in Lincoln

Slate floors especially riven slate can be a nightmare to keep clean as the uneven surface of a riven tile traps dirt and makes it difficult to clean. Our client in Lincoln had this issue, however as you will see from the pictures below we managed to get it looking like new again.

Slate Floor Cleaning

The Slate Floor Cleaning process involved a good cleaning with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean Tile and Grout cleaner, it’s an alkaline rather than acidic product that doesn’t harm the surface of the stone but is very effective at cleaning. We left the product to dwell for a while before giving the tile a good scrub to lift the soil and dirt trapped into the pores of the riven slate floor tile. Once the slate tile and grout were looking clean we gave the floor a good wash down to remove any remaining chemical and neutralise the floor.

Slate Floor Before Cleaning and Sealing

Sealing the cleaned Slate Floor

We left the floor to dry overnight and came back the next day to seal it using Tile Doctor Pro-Seal which is gives the floor a natural look and really lifts and reveals the colours in the slate. You can see from the photographs the difference and how amazing the colours are.

Slate Floor After Cleaning and Sealing

The client was so pleased he has booked us in to return and do some more work for him.

Restoration of Flagstone Floor in the Kitchen

Details of an original Flagstone Floor cleaning job below from a Victorian House in the City of Lancaster, we often find flagstone floor tiles in kitchens and hallways and in this case they were in the hallway. You can see from the photographs below that the flagstone floor tiles were in a very bad state and it became clear that no amount of cleaning was really going to remove the decades of trapped dirt embedded in the pores of the Sandstone.

Cleaning the Flagstone Floor

To get over this problem it was necessary to remove the top surface of the flagstone using a milling pad together with a small amount of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. The flagstones were then washed down with water which was then removed using a wet and dry vax machine. There was no damp proof course under the tiles so I left it to dry for a week before coming back to seal.

Sealing and Restoration of Flagstone Floor

The milling process had opened up the pores in the sandstone flagstone floor tile so to seal it I used 1 coat of Tile Doctor colour grow in order to bring out the colour in the stone and then topped this off wth a further 3 coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go.

So we returned to the property to clean the courtyard area, which we deep cleaned with a jet wash machine and Tile Doctor Pro-clean solution. We started by mixing the Pro-clean with water and spread it over the surface scrubbing it with a Tile Doctor black scrubbing pad on our rotary machine. This was left to dwell for 30 minutes then we fitted our patio spinner to our jet wash and thoroughly cleaned and rinsed the complete area.

Once again the customer was absolutely delighted with the result and as a result they now want me to maintain their floors on a yearly basis. They have also asked me to clean some other stone, wood and carpeted areas in their property, which will be done later this year.

The customer’s comments were:

“Thanks again Paul for another amazing job, we will be in touch soon with our next project for you to do, we now know that your standard of work is excellent and that you are honest, trustworthy and very hard working.”

This customer had a terracotta tiled floor in the kitchen, utility room and toilet, which hadn’t been sealed for 8 years and told us that the floor needed full restoration. On full inspection we also found that there was grout loose and missing and it was also different colours.

The tiles were also stained with olive oil from cooking spillages.

We started by giving the floor a deep clean by using Tile Doctor Pro-clean and scrubbing with deck brushes to remove all soils and old residue sealers. We then thoroughly rinsed the floor using our truck mounted machine and spinner tool. We had a problem of removing the oil stains from the tile as terracotta is very porous and had absorbed the like a sponge.

So we then applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go to the stained areas then sprayed with a light spray of water to help keep it moist and stop it drying out, we left this solution on the tiles for 90 minutes. After the dwelling time we steamed the floor as we rinsed off the Remove and Go. The next step was to rinse the complete floor with our truck mount cleaning system and a tile cleaning spinner tool. This thoroughly rinses and thoroughly cleans the floor with very hot water and high pressure.

We had to then tackle the grout problem, so we removed all loose and old grout, where needed and re-grouted the floor. This was left to dry for 48 hours to completely dry.

Then we applied 8 coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go, leaving it to dry for 40 minutes between each coat. We returned the following day and re-coloured the grout with Tile Doctor beige grout re-colourant. This was then left to dry and a further 3 coats of Seal and Go.

Once this had dried we buffed the floor to harden the sealer and polish it. We used a Tile Doctor white pad and rotary cleaning and polishing machine to bring out the shine on the floor as shown in the pictures below:

The customer was on holiday when we carried out the work, we had been dealing with the manager of the property, who when the customer returned was made to phone me, so the customer could thank me personally.

The customer’s comments were:

“I can’t believe how nice our floor looks and never thought it could look so good! “

They spoke to the manager of their property and have asked him to arrange with me another appointment as they wanted me to clean their courtyard area as well as they were absolutely delighted with their terracotta floors.

I think you will be impressed with these photographs from a Quarry Tile floor we did recently. This quarry tiles were installed in the kitchen and went through to the dinning room, hallway and down stairs cloakroom, at total of around 40sq metres

The tiles were recenctly installed and the customer called us in because they were unhappy with the finished result. This can be a common problem with Tilers who do a great job of levelling, tiling and grouting a floor but struggle on their knowledge of sealers. They were hoping for a high gloss finish but were left with a very dull and patchy floor.

Quarry Tile Cleaning

We stripped the entire floor first using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean assisted by a rotary machine fitted with a black pad. This removed most of the sealer, however, we encountered more problems with grout haze which had been trapped underneath the sealer and had not been cleaned off properly to begin with. Also there were still patches of the original sealer which had been applied over a damp floor. The grout haze was removed by hand with wire bushes and more Pro-Clean and then the entire area was blanket stripped. This is an interesting technique unique to Tile Doctor which involves applying Remove and Go mixed with Nanotech Ultra-Clean to tiles and then covering in plastic sheeting and left for several hours to allow to soak into tiles. We then used a steam stripper and a wet vacuum to pick up to remove and rinse off the products. The area was then left to dry for 2 days assisted by dehumidifiers.

Quarry Tile Sealing

After this time we returned to site to take damp metre readings and once we were happy that all areas were dry, we then applied 5 coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go to protect floors and provide the high gloss finish that the customer requested.

Quarry Tile Floor in Friston

Details below of An 8m2 Quarry Tiled Floor in the kitchen of an old 18th century farm cottage in the village of Friston, which over time had lost its shine and become dull. This floor like a lot of floors we get asked to maintain had lost it’s sealer over the years and was in need of some Tile Doctor TLC.

Quarry Tile Flooring Before Restoration

Quarry Tile Cleaning

The floor was thoroughly cleaned using 1 litre of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, a multi-purpose high-alkaline cleaner, degreaser and stripper created for use on most stone and ceramic tiles in use today. The tiled floor was left to dry overnight ready for sealing the next morning.

Quarry Tile Flooring After Restoration

Quarry Tile Floor Sealing

The following day, the tiles were sealed with four coats of Seal & Go, a Tile Doctor product that provides a long lasting stain resistant surface seal and a durable low-sheen finish. You can see the difference in the photographs.

Victorian Floor in Erdington Birmingham

Details below of a Victorian Floor Resotration job in Erdington. The floor was soiled with dirt and paint spots and the owner wanted it restored back to its original beauty and preserved for the future.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration

Cleaning the Victorian Tiled Floor

We used Pro-Clean mixed 50/50 with NanoTech Ultra Clean and hot water mopped on to the floor and left for 20mins to soak to help release the dirt. This was followed by scrubbing with a heavy floor buffer fitted with a black pad; we used a wet vacuum to pick up the solution from the floor and then rinsed with clean water and then steam vacuumed and speed dried with a fan blower.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Restoration

Sealing the Victorian Tiled Floor

When dry the floor was sealed with 2 coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow to bring out colour then one coat of Tile Doctor Seal and Go to add a shine. The jobs took two days in total, the photographs don’t really do the floor justice but the difference was remarkable.

Quarry Tile Floor in Bury St Edmunds

This 10m2 old quarry tiled floor laid in diamond pattern was in the hallway of a lovely thatched cottage, once part of the Hengrave Hall estate, had not been sealed for several years and was in need of restoration. Hengrave Hall itself is a Tudor mansion, located just north of Bury St Edmunds and in the heart of the picturesque village of Hengrave. It’s an imposing country mansion with beautiful gardens and offers a perfect venue for Weddings.

Quarry Tiled Floor Before Restoration

Cleaning the Quarry Tiled Floor

The floor was given a thorough clean using a litre of Tile Doctor Pro-clean which is a concentrated, multi-purpose high-alkaline cleaner, stripper and degreaser designed for use on Quarry Tiles and then left to dry overnight ready for sealing the next day.

Quarry Tiled Floor After Restoration

Sealing the Quarry Tiled Floor

The next day we sealed the floor using 5 coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go which provides both a stain resistant surface seal and a durable low-sheen finish; we found 1 litre of the product was sufficient for the job.

Limestone Floor Tiles Polished to a deep shine

Great photograph below of a Limestone floor in the kitchen of a house near Coventry. The Limestone had lost it’s shine after the application of a surface sealing “Clean and Shine” type product; the problem was akin to the application of a wax finish which in turn had been contaminated with cleaning product and soil underneath. The grout line has also become heavily soiled through everyday use.

Cleaning Limestone Floor Tile

First the Limestone tiled floor was dry vacuumed to remove loose grit; we also took to opportunity to remove the kitchen unit kick boards. This was followed by a good clean with a 1:5 mix of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to dwell for 15 minutes before the application of a stiff grout brush on on the grout lines followed by the use of a slow speed buffing machine to break up the surface wax on the tile. The whole are was rinsed down using high pressure clean water via a spinner tool which removed any left over dirt from the grout lines.

The next step was to use the diamond encrusted burnishing pads system to prepare and condition the limestone floor tiles prior to polishing.

Before and After

Adding that deep shine to Limestone Tiled Floors

We then applied Tile Doctor Shine Powder using a White buffing pad to provide that extra deep shine you can see in the photograph, it also provides and tough durable finish.

Victorian Tile Floor Cleaning

Pictures below from St Gregory’s Church located in the village of Offchurch Warwickshire. The Victorian floor was laid in the 1800’s, there were signs of damage from acid based cleaning and high foot traffic in the central areas, no doubt from years of use from the parishioners.

Victorian Church Floor before Tile Cleaning

Tile Cleaning

We used Pro-Clean (diluted 1 to 5 with water) applied with a mop to the floor area then using a floor buffing machine fitted with a nylon scrub brush we proceeded to agitate the solution whilst scrubbing the floor in order to break down the soil.

The dirty solution was then vacuumed off the floor using a wet and dry vac machine followed by rinsing with clean water at low pressure to remove any left over soil and product.

Victorian Floor Tile Sealing

Victorian Tiled Church Floor after Tile Cleaning and Sealing

The next day the floor had small areas still drying which was speed dried using fans and hot air. We then sealed the floor using three to five coats of Seal and Go depending on the area.

Slate Tile Cleaning and Sealing at the Triumph Working men’s club

It’s often difficult for a set of photographs to capture the difference cleaning and sealing a stone floor can make, however I think you will agree the photographs below which were taken at the Standard Triumph working men’s club in Coventry show an amazing transformation.

The slate floor had one coat of sealer put down by the tiler some ten years ago and due to the nature of the environment it had been covered in drink spills and the resulting cleaning products, overtime this had made floor sticky and dull.

Slate Floor before Tile Cleaning

Slate Tile Cleaning Process

The first step in the Slate Tile Cleaning process was to get it completely clean and free of any residual chemicals, we did this with the application of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean (a strong 1/2 mix with water) which we left to dwell for 15 to 20 minutes allowing it to chemically soak into pores of the slate tile. We then scrubbed the floor with a heavy weight floor buffer allowing the scrubbing action to break the soil down, we worked the soil and grout lines four square metres at a time, removing the soiled water with a wet and dry vacuum. The slate floor was then washed down with cold water applied at a pressure or 1200 psi with a special Spinner Tool. The whole tile cleaning process took around 8 hours to complete.

An inspection of the cleaned slate floor revealed ten years of wear and tear had resulted in a few holes which we repaired before leaving the floor to fully dry overnight.

Slate Floor After Tile Cleaning and Sealing

Sealing the Slate Tile

The next day we coated the floor with 5 coats of a Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a water based sealer ideal for Slate floors that provides stain resistance and a durable low-sheen finish. Sealers do break down over time and given the high foot traffic over this floor we have agreed to go back once a year to provide a tile cleaning and sealer top up.